Co-Founders, Ben and Gareth share the company story of how we came to be Gaia, a name inspired by the nurturing spirit of Mother Earth in Greek mythology who emerged from chaos when the universe was created.
Dear world,
Today marks an important day in our company. One where Socially Recruited now becomes Gaia.
And what that means for our future.
This rebranding marks a new chapter in our mission to make recruitment simpler for both candidate and employer, and we are excited to take you along on this journey.
The idea for Gaia started with a simple observation. During his tenure at a major teacher recruitment company, Gareth saw firsthand the high costs schools incurred to recruit quality teachers.
This issue hit home during his daughter's school open evening when he learned that the school, despite paying hefty recruitment fees to attract teachers, lacked the necessary resources to offer students extra support.
Determined to make a difference, Gareth envisioned a solution that would be both cost-effective and impactful…putting budget back into the classroom for the people that matter most.
In 2017, Gareth and Ben Co-Founded Socially Recruited. At the time, social media was rarely considered a viable recruitment channel. Employers posted jobs sporadically, with no paid media spend, targeting, or strategic approach. We recognised the untapped potential of social media and set out to transform it into a powerful recruitment tool.
We aimed to address three major problems:
Our mission from the start has been clear: to make applying for a job as easy as buying a product on Amazon. We wanted to create a platform where candidates could apply quickly and effortlessly, providing employers with a diverse pool of qualified candidates. We envisioned a new era in recruitment, where talent attraction is seamless, and jobs are accessible to all.
The idea of joining forces with soccialy was born out of a desire to expand our capabilities and reach to both the public sector as well as private sector. Soccialy, with its strong foothold in the education sector, complemented our expertise in the commercial sector.
This allowed us to offer our proven recruitment solutions to a broader range of industries and better serve our diverse customer base.
In April 2024, we took a significant step towards expanding our impact by acquiring TJS Education Ltd, an education recruitment consultancy with a robust track record. Since its launch in 2015, TJS Education has helped over 2,500 schools and further education institutions find and recruit qualified staff more efficiently and cost-effectively than traditional methods.
Their proactive approach, leveraging social media to reach potential candidates, has saved schools an estimated 30% on recruitment costs. That’s millions of pounds across the education recruitment ecosystem.
This acquisition means TJS Education's clients will now benefit from our AI-powered technology, which analyses nearly four million data points to identify suitable candidates based on their social media presence and activity.
Coming together accelerates our expansion into public sector recruitment, allowing us to better serve headteachers and other public sector employers facing staffing challenges and high recruitment costs.
This brought together two successful companies, each with unique strengths. Socially Recruited’s expertise in using social media for recruitment and soccialy’s deep understanding of the education sector created a powerful synergy.
This combination has proven to be highly effective, as evidenced by our impressive growth and impact:
The timing was strategic. By joining forces earlier this year, we can extend our proven solutions to a broader range of industries and enhance our overall business capabilities. It allows us to better serve public service sectors that were not fully catered to by either company alone.
At the heart of Gaia is a commitment to empathy. We believe that recruitment should be about more than just technology; it should be about people. We aim to create a nurturing environment where both candidates and employers feel valued and supported. Our goal is to enrich the recruitment journey for everyone involved.
Supporting and guiding candidates on their career path.
Giving employers exactly what they need: attract relevant top-tier talent, quickly, easily and cost-effectively.
As we move forward as Gaia, we remain committed to simplifying recruitment for the public and private sectors. Our innovative search and social recruitment strategies powered by 7 years of AI machine learning, combined with our empathetic approach, position us to deliver exceptional value to our clients…and their candidates.
We are grateful for your continued support and excited about the future.
Together, we are Gaia, nurturing talent, building futures and transforming the recruitment ecosystem for all.
One candidate and one employer at a time.
Let’s do this!
Ben, Gareth & Romy